


Softly, and Fragile, Too

by the_Runaway075 (orphan_account)



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Canon Era, Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Roller Coaster, Fluff, Implied Sexual Content, M/M, Mpreg, Sleepy Cuddles, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-01-29
Packaged: 2019-10-18 17:19:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,286
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17585051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/the_Runaway075
Summary: "We already know I'm pregnant. What else is there to talk about?"





	Softly, and Fragile, Too

**Author's Note:**

> Pregnant Noctis is just too cute ;)

“Have you spoken to Noct?”

 Gladio shakes his head, trying to focus on his novel instead of his answer.

 Ignis sighs, moving away from the bathroom door - the prince’s hideaway. “I’m afraid he won’t speak to any of us until he needs something.”

 “Or till it’s over.”

 The advisor stares Gladio down. “Enough of that kind of talk, Gladiolus,” he chides him. “Noct is facing a turmoil of emotions right now. To judge him based on his mistake would be ill-advised, he is still so fragile. May I remind you that you are also to blame for this little hiccup?”

 He shuts his book and slams it on the coffee table, standing. “It’s hardly a  _little_ hiccup. We’re having a godsdamn kid.”

 Partly distracted by the dissention in the room, Prompto has lost four lives on his game of King’s Knight and he barely even cares. “Do you think Noct’s happy about it?”

 “Hard to say,” Ignis says, glancing morbidly at the bathroom door. “He appears to neither want it nor acknowledge it. Even I’m having trouble reading into his feelings.”

 Gladio runs a hand over his face. “So, what do we do, huh? Can’t exactly get rid of it.”

 Prompto’s eyes widen in horror as he gasps, mouth agape. “You wouldn’t!!”

 Gladio shrugs at a disapproving look from the royal advisor. “Now, now, there’s no cause for alarm, Prompto. There won’t be any such thing happening. But a trip to the doctor wouldn’t hurt.”

 Prompto slides off the bed and smoothes out the slumpish area near the pillows where he was just sitting. “What do you think the doctor will say? Think he’s ever seen a pregnant guy before?”

 Ignis hums thoughtfully. “It’s possible. Regardless, it would be crucial to our decision about what to do for Noctis.”

 “Will you guys quit talking about me?”

 They all look to Noctis as he comes out of the bathroom finally. Their eyes are drawn to the tiny mound jutting from his abdomen, the place where all their anxiety looms. Gladio perks up, senses sharp as Noctis’s sweet, freshly-showered scent flows below his nostrils. The prince brushes past him, but Gladio grabs his wrist and yanks him back.

 “You’re goin’ to the doctor.”

 “What? No,” Noctis says, tone bored. “I don’t need a doctor.” He pulls against Gladio’s grip, but his wrist stays caught.

 Ignis adjusts his glasses falling down his nose. “It would help, Noct. We don’t quite know everything we should to assist you during this delicate time.”

 “Yeah!” Prompto jumps in. “I don’t know the first thing about babies!”

 Noctis laughs at that. “But I feel fine.”

 “It’s not always about you,” Gladio says. “We need to know what's going on with the kid.”

 Noctis frees his wrist after enough pulling. Though it might have just been that Gladio released him. “Shut up,” he hisses. “If it wasn’t all about me, _babe_ , we wouldn't be in this mess, would we?”

 Gladio growls at him. “Don’t start that again.”

 “If you just kept your hands to yourself!”

 “Noct! Gladio! Enough!”

 Noctis storms over toward the sofa and throws himself down on it, burying his face in a decorative throw pillow. Ignis sits gently beside him, stroking his hair.

 “I’m not going to a doctor,” comes Noctis’s muffled voice.

 Ignis’s hand moves to stroke his back, leaving Noctis humming. “It would do you a world of good, Noct.”

 Noctis chews on the pillow, looking up at Ignis. “How? We already know I’m pregnant. What else is there to talk about?”

 “All the fun stuff,” Prompto says, sitting on his knees on the floor next to the advisor. “Like, if it’s a boy or a girl? And we’ll also get to see their cute little face on that monitor thingy!”

 Ignis chuckles fondly. “I’m not sure if we’ll be able to discern what is their face at this early stage, Prompto. But yes, the health of the child and of you is paramount. We shouldn’t take any chances.”

 Noctis groans and rolls onto his back. “Is this going to involve making ‘healthy’ changes to my diet?”

 Ignis’s smile isn’t cruel this time. “Oh, I think I can make some accommodations, considering the hormonal cravings that plague pregnancy.”

 Ignis gets up and allows Gladio to take his place as the larger man lifts Noctis’s legs to sit down, then places them in his lap. Noctis isn’t fazed. But the click of Prompto’s camera shutter is an unwelcome sound, causing an annoyed Gladio to throw a pillow at him.

 Prompto giggles at his new picture.

 “Noct, quit your whining,” Gladio says, tapping on his prince’s legs like drums. “It’ll be good for you to see a doctor. The worst he’s gonna do is poke your little belly.” He starts poking Noctis’s tiny pregnant belly, hoping to get a laugh out of him, but all he does is act moody and try to push Gladio’s hands away.

 “Stop it,” Noctis complains, sitting up. He smooths over his belly like he can’t believe it’s there, caressing it with the faintest of touches. “Is it really that serious?”

 “Serious? Well, it  _is_ important, Noct,” Ignis nods, about to leave for the kitchen. “I’ll try to make an appointment for tomorrow morning.”

 Noctis scoots up all the way until he’s sitting in his Shield’s lap, still fascinated by the bulge in his middle. “Does it disgust you?”

 Gladio sniffs Noctis’s hair and picks out a piece of lint. “What, this?” He rests a hand on his prince’s little mound.

 He sounds shocked, and Noctis almost regrets asking that. “I mean, y’know, does it make me less… attractive to you? I read that about some couples.”

 Gladio scoffs. “You  _read_ something? Shocking.”

 Noctis slaps his chest. “Will you just answer my question?”

 Gladio wraps his arms around Noctis’s lean waist, feeling the pockets of fat beginning to grow on his hips. He nuzzles his nose and rests their foreheads together. “You are beautiful, Noct. And the fact that you're carryin’ my kid only makes it better.”

 Noctis cocks a brow. “And how does it make things better exactly?”

 “Well,” Gladio whispers, rubbing little circles on Noctis’s thigh with his finger. “I’ve heard that sex is a lot more satisfying during pregnancy.”

 “Top or bottom?”

 Gladio pecks his parted lips. “Depends on your preference. How deep do ya want me to go?”

 A playful smirk splays itself on Noctis’s face. “All the way, usually,” he says, slinging his arms around Gladio’s shoulders. “Is it like, magnified?”

 “That’s what they say.”

 Noctis’s pulse quickens at the thought, breaths shallow as he holds tight to Gladio’s neck, hugging him. “C-can we…? I mean, is it safe?”

 “That’s, ngh, what they say,” Gladio repeats in a lower voice, huskier than before as he shifts against the growing tent in his pants. “I’ll make it all cozy for you - dozens of pillows and everything.”

 “But I thought I was deciding our positions tonight?”

 Gladio groans at Noctis’s pickiness. “Dammit, Noct, don’t make it complicated. I just wanna do it. If it were up to me, I’d throw you on the bed and make rough, passionate love to you in only about five minutes.”

 Noctis hums, licking his lips. “So, you wanna be on top then?”

 “Ain’t I always?”

 Noctis nods slowly and then meets Gladio’s lips, letting him pick him up and carry him into the bedroom. He sets him down gently on the bed before racing around the darkened room, gathering up mismatched pillows and blankets to tuck behind Noctis to support his back. Noctis thanks him genuinely and lays back against the mountain of softness. He glances over at the singular window.

 He loves when the blinds stay closed in the afternoon. It gives him a sense of freedom.

 Out of breath, Gladio throws his tank top off and climbs onto the bed, looming over his smaller prince. “Comfortable?”

 “Always - thanks to you,” Noctis replies kindly. Suddenly, he gasps, hand on his belly. “Oh-!”

 Gladio’s on alert, amber eyes roaming over Noctis’s form to search for any discomfort. “Noct? What is it? Something wrong?”

 Noctis smiles warmly at his pregnant middle, laughing. “Well, hello to you, too.”

 Gladio relaxes, his body and senses softening against the rigid shock he caused himself when he realizes to whom Noctis is speaking. “What’s it doin’, huh?”

 “Just saying hi,” Noctis says in an exhale, taking Gladio’s hand and placing it on the tiny movement within his pale, taut belly. “Feel it, Gladio. It’s amazing.”

 “Hey there,” Gladio coos, grin brightening up the entire room. “You gonna be okay with me taking your mama for a little ride? I mean, I don’t wanna bother you again or anything.”

 “I don’t think it’ll mind,” Noctis says, growing breathless. “Besides, you’re gonna be gentle with me, right?”

 Gladio gazes into those gorgeous blue eyes. “As often as I can. But I won’t promise.”

 Noctis reaches out for him. “It’s a deal.”

 When Ignis walks by the door later to inform Noctis of his appointment, Noctis can’t help the sound he makes when Gladio really gets into it. He advises them to take it easy, but his advice is most likely ignored, all thanks to Noctis’s pregnancy hormones.

 

 ♡♡♡

 

 Trying to ignore the sloppy, rude sounds Noctis makes as he crams more french fries into his mouth, Ignis suggests a sensitive proposition. “You’re like to need new clothes soon. Those shirts won’t do you any good past your fifth month.”

 Noctis halts his chewing and glances down at himself. He could use some bigger clothes. Having his belly stick out below the hem of his shirt isn’t the most productive look in the world. “Gladio doesn’t mind.”

 A clearing of his throat and Noctis is chewing with his mouth closed this time. “Yes, well, Gladio has a mind for less practical things. But you will be needing a few maternity articles, Noct, because it allows your body to expand healthily.”

 “I could just wear one of his shirts.”

 “That will never do,” Ignis says, stealing the ketchup from his charge. “You are the prince - you must maintain some form of decorum, even in the wilderness.”

 Noctis grunts unhappily, shoving three fries in his mouth at once.

 “We shall go shopping tomorrow, after your follow-up appointment.”

 “Another appointment!?” Noctis practically yells. “Astrals, Ignis, this kid isn’t going anywhere anytime soon! How often do they have to keep doing this?”

 Ignis waggles a finger at him. “Until you are finished.”

 He slumps back in his chair and moans, extremely displeased. “Am I allowed to ask for that last piece of pie?”

 Ignis shakes his head, peering down at Noctis over his glasses like a hawk. “Absolutely not.”

 

 ♡♡♡

 

 “Does it hurt?” Prompto asks, leaning over his seat as they drive to Noctis’s next appointment. “I mean, she’s kicking you, right?”

 “It’s not like that,” Noctis says, swaddled in one of his big, new maternity shirts with ample room to spare. “They say kicking, but she’s just stretching out.”

 “Feelin’ her way around,” Gladio adds with a fond tilt of his head at Noctis. “That’s what babies do.”

 “Wow,” Prompto says, staring intently at Noctis’s growing belly. “Man, Noct, you’ve got a gift. I wish I could have babies, too.”

 “Now, let’s not start that,” Ignis grumbles. “We’ve enough trouble as it is without little Argentums running rampant. “

 Gladio snorts. “That’d be a nightmare.”

 “Hey, hey” Noctis says, rubbing Prompto’s arm consolingly. “Prompto would be a good dad. He’d have all their names written down, wouldn’t you?”

 Prompto gives a pout and turns back around in his seat as the two passengers share some guffaws. “Alright, alright, I get it.”

 Ignis huffs with a smile, hand on Prompto’s thigh. “Don’t be discouraged, Prompto. You may yet make a fine father one day.”

 “But for now, you’re gonna witness something amazing,” Gladio offers, leaning forward in his seat to hand Ignis a can of Ebony. “You’re gonna see my little girl firsthand.”

 Noctis entwines his hand with his boyfriend’s, feeling very sure that this is one of the best accidents they’ve ever caused. “She’s beautiful, Prompto. She… she really is.”

 

 ♡♡♡

 

 Noctis slams the door in Gladio’s face, locking it after. He stomps into the bedroom and falls onto the bed, staring up at the ceiling. It was one of the worst fights they’d had, and Noctis doesn’t even know what brought it about. He just exploded for some reason when Gladio suggested he start watching what he eats.

 It wasn’t so much what was in the suggestion, but in  _how_ he said it. A once-over across Noctis’s body as he was undressing gave Noctis the impression that Gladio was unhappy with his recent weight gain. This was what he feared for so long, having gained a whole ten pounds in his seventh month alone.

 It never bothered Noctis much whether or not Gladio saw him as beautiful before, so why should it now? If there was still love, why should he care?

 When Ignis unlocks the front door and the three others pile into the motel room, Noctis rolls over onto his side and lets out a sigh. Prompto’s voice is hushed as he asks Ignis something about the prince, and Noctis feels like it’s an invasion of privacy. He hears Gladio’s deep baritone voice make a crude remark regarding Noctis’s hormones and he loses it, tears stinging his eyes.

 He bounces off the bed and trudges out into the presence of his so-called friends. “Don’t have enough respect for me to talk to my face? Isn’t it nice to have such caring friends?”

 “Noct-” Prompto begins, but Gladio pushes him away and steps forward.

 “Noct, what’s wrong with you? You were fine this morning.”

 “Is there something bothering you, Noct? Perhaps you should sit down.”

 Noctis’s expression turns both hostile and frightened. “No, I don’t wanna sit down! I wanna know why you are all ganging up against me!”

 Gladio rolls his eyes. “Stop acting so defensive. I only made a small observation.”

 “I’m trying, okay?! I’m trying not to eat so much, but I can’t help it!”

 Prompto goes to him and puts a hand on his shoulder. “Noct, it’s okay, we understand. I know how you feel. Food is just too good.”

 “I can’t be perfect for you, Gladio,” Noctis admits, tears streaming down his cheeks. “I can’t be everything you want!”

 “I'm not expecting you to be!”

 “Hold up, now,” Ignis announces. “Listen, we are all exhausted and worn from our day of travel and errands. Why don’t we all head for bed and sleep it off?”

 “Yeah, jetlag’s got me done in,” Prompto says, stretching. “You guys wanna switch beds, just for tonight?”

 Noctis and Gladio look at each other, then away, somewhat satisfied by Prompto’s proposal. When they climb into bed later that night, Noctis snuggles up to Ignis and hugs his back, not once glancing over his shoulder to make sure his boyfriend fell asleep okay.

 It’s better this way, he thinks. This will blow over soon.

 And eventually, it does. Noctis is surprised to see Gladio sitting all by his lonesome in the dark kitchen, sipping a beer. He shuffles over, scratching his belly. Gladio isn’t angry, at least, he doesn’t appear to be; in fact, he looks rather sad. The Shield pats his thigh, offering his lap to Noctis, who hesitates for a moment before pulling out a chair for himself.

 Noctis folds his hands together in silence, listening to Gladio clear his throat and sip his beer. He’s hesitant to say anything, wondering if he does, he’ll just make things worse.

 Gladio sets his empty bottle down across the table. “Can’t sleep?”

 The prince answers with a nod.

 “Me either.”

 Noctis sighs and then yawns, suddenly feeling very sleepy. “I tried to shift into a more comfortable position, but I didn’t wanna wake Ignis.”

 Gladio hums, tugging on the strings of his sweatshirt. “Same. Prompto’s a heavy sleeper, but a total blanket hog. I was too cold, and I couldn’t find it in me to bother him about it.”

 Noctis doesn’t look at him. “You’re not gonna pull an all-nighter and get drunk, I hope?”

 “I was thinkin’ I might sleep on the sofa, actually,” he sniggers half-heartedly. “Unless you want it, of course.”

 When Noctis glances up at him, Gladio is smiling. And it’s a real smile. “Um, I can just go back in with Iggy.” He stands up.

 “Noct, wait.”

 Noctis stops and turns around to face him again.

 “I’m sorry,” Gladio says, voice soft and hushed. “I’m sorry I hurt your feelings. I wasn’t being sensitive at all when I blurted out how you’ve gotten bigger lately. I didn’t mean it in the way you probably thought.”

 Noctis scuffs the floor with Ignis’s stolen slippers. “So, you still find me… attractive?”

 “Oh, Noct,” Gladio laughs. “Attractive ain’t a strong enough word. You’re more gorgeous than ever like this. But I think that always - no matter what. So why did you get so mad?”

 “I guess I took it a little too far,” Noctis says, blushing. “I don’t exactly have complete control over how I react to things.”

 “Especially to me?”

 “Yeah,” Noctis nods, bashfully.

 Gladio gets up and walks over to him, placing his hands on his swollen belly. “Y’know, I was thinkin’...”

 Noctis steps closer into Gladio’s warmth. “What?”

 “Wanna share the sofa?”

 Noctis smirks as he’s swarmed by Gladio’s big, covered arms. “Not a bad idea. After all, you are the comfiest mattress around.”

 Gladio takes that as a yes and leads him over to the sofa, throwing himself down and welcoming Noctis into his arms. Noctis crawls carefully on top of his boyfriend's body, holding his belly as it wobbles against his movements. Gladio lifts up the hem of his sweatshirt and lets Noctis crawl inside, snuggling up to him instantly.

 A quiet sigh leaves Noctis’s lips as he settles down and closes his eyes. “Is it too late to say I love you?”

 Gladio chuckles. “Never too late, baby,” he replies, kissing his head.

 Noctis is slipping away into a deep sleep. Gladio’s warmth is intoxicating, a comfort he’s taken for granted too often. “Good night then,” he yawns, snuggling like a kitten into the crook of Gladio’s neck.

 “Sleep good, Noct,” Gladio whispers softly, but Noctis didn’t hear him.

 The next morning, Ignis is the first one to walk in on the two lovers asleep on the sofa. He smiles fondly at the sight, aware from their positions that the two made up sometime during the night. He takes a blanket and drapes it over them, leaving them to sleep the morning away.

 Gladio’s snores have to be loud in Noctis’s ear, but the look on the prince’s face is one of peace and bliss as he slumbers. Gladio stirs, nearly choking on his saliva from sleeping on his back all night. Wide-eyed, but not yet fully awake, he stares up at Ignis.

 “Had a good sleep, did we?” The advisor whispers, tucking the blanket around them both. Noctis turns his head and sighs happily in his sleep. “Why don’t you sleep a few more hours? There's nothing pressing today.”

 “No appointments?” Gladio asks, motioning his chin at his sleeping Noctis.

 “No appointments. Just sleep.”

 Gladio’s mouth quirks upward in a quiet ‘thanks’ before he shuts his eyes in ease and falls back to sleep, curling both arms around Noctis.

 They do eventually make it back into their own bed before noon, the two of them out immediately before they can pull the covers up and over themselves. Noctis’s head is on Gladio’s chest, and Gladio has one arm around his prince.

  _Perfection._


End file.
